


Surprise Treat

by Fire_Bear



Series: PrUK Week 2018 [4]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Children, Day 4, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Halloween, M/M, Omega Verse, Parenthood, PrUK Week 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-23 09:36:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14931759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Bear/pseuds/Fire_Bear
Summary: It's Halloween and Arthur is ill - which is interfering with his families plans. Will he be able to make it up them?





	Surprise Treat

The sun was setting on the day of Halloween and all was not well in the Kirkland-Beilschmidt household.

Every year, they made the same preparations for the holiday. First, Arthur would make Kris and Henrietta’s costumes by hand. His small business of taking in dresses and suit trousers helped in that endeavour. Usually, his children loved them and were excited when he asked them a month beforehand what they wanted. This year, Kris had decided on being Doctor Strange while Hettie (as Arthur lovingly called her) had settled on a fairy princess.

Next up was the carving of the pumpkins. Gilbert would find the biggest pumpkins he could and bring back one for each of them. Arthur was the one who helped their children carve them. This year, there was a fairy and a cat alongside the traditional scary faces that Arthur and Gilbert preferred.

While they carved them, Gilbert set up the decorations. Flickering fairy lights were draped over the outside of the house. Gravestones were set up in the front garden. A skeleton hung from the tree, swaying with the wind. Gilbert had even found a decoration for the upper window that made it look as though a ghost was appearing and disappearing in their bedroom window. Arthur allowed it but only with the understanding that he was allowed to set up a scary trap for Gilbert. This year, a bucket of spiders was dumped on his head when he entered the garage, the sound effect of scuttling making Gilbert scream - and take the day off to recover and canoodle.

For the trick-or-treaters, they all made creepy cakes, green and orange being predominant. Arthur made cakes with ‘fingers’ and ‘blood’ while the children made fairy cakes. Gilbert helped them all and always marvelled at the fact that Arthur could bake but couldn't cook. When he started to embarrass Arthur, he would whack Gilbert on the arse with a dish towel. They usually ended up burning something as they got distracted with kissing. This year, Arthur had tried to compensate with a timer which would go off before at least one batch of cakes burnt but they ended up underdone and, when they shoved them back in, they ended up burnt.

Then, on the night, Arthur would put the cakes that had survived in boxes at the front door while they took their own children around the houses. He would help Kris and Hettie into their costumes, careful not to damage them before they got out. Once he'd done that, he'd find Gilbert who usually dressed as something simple, such as a Jedi or something similar. As soon as Arthur appeared with his children, he would hand over a set of animal ears which Arthur would grumble about but would always wear, secretly pleased when Gilbert told him how adorable or pretty he looked. This year, none of that happened.

Because, this year, Arthur had been throwing up all day.

He was still feeling queasy as he curled up on the couch, a basin nearby in case he couldn’t get up in time. Gilbert was fussing with the blanket and Arthur was glad that he couldn’t concentrate enough to pick up on his alpha’s scent. For one, it might make him sick again. But he also didn’t want to know how worried Gilbert truly was. As Gilbert finished smoothing down the blanket, he pressed a firm kiss to Arthur’s temple.

“We can stay in,” he said.

“No,” Arthur retorted, though he found himself hoping Gilbert would do so anyway. “I worked hard on those costumes.”

“And they look amazing,” Gilbert told him, sounding proud. “They can wear them tomorrow, at the school's party.”

“It’s not their fault I’m ill. You should go out with them. I can take care of myself.” Inwardly, though, his omega instincts were yelling at him that he needed his mate to keep him safe, keep them all safe. It made Arthur wonder…

“Are you sure?” Gilbert asked, looking worried. “You smell really sick.

“Mama!” came a shout from above. “Huwwy! Make me a pwincess!”

Arthur forced a smile. “Go. Be careful.”

Pressing one more kiss to the top of his head, Gilbert did as he was told, but not without some reluctance. Arthur groaned once he was out of earshot and placed a gentle hand over his stomach. It was churning and he could feel a lump in his throat. He swallowed several times and felt the gorge rise. Willing it down, he listened to the thumping and shouts from upstairs. Slowly, the shouts increased in volume until a half-dressed Kris stomped around the couch to stand in front of him.

“Mummy!” he exclaimed. “I don’t want Daddy to dress me up! I want _you_ to do it!”

With a weak smile, Arthur reached out for him and the little boy took his hand. “I’m sorry, darling. Mummy's sick right now so let Daddy do it, okay?”

“It’s gotta be you! You always do it!” Kris protested. The boy's bottom lip trembled and Arthur could see how shiny his hazel eyes were. Arthur had to bite his own lip to keep from crying and drew Kris closer, hugging him from his position on the couch. His fingers were buried in his son’s soft, pale blond hair, running through the strands in a soothing gesture.

“I’m sorry, honey,” Arthur murmured. “But I need you to be good for Daddy, okay? He’s going to take you ’round the houses. You and Hettie. So you need to look out for your sister.”

Kris sniffled a little but nodded. “Okay,” he said in a small voice.

“Good lad,” said Arthur and, with a gentle push in the right direction, Arthur sent Kris off. As soon as he was gone, Arthur grabbed the basin and dry heaved. He wasn’t sure he had anything left to bring up.

By the time he'd finished being hunched over the basin, Arthur’s little family was back downstairs, all of them in costume. When Arthur risked peeking over the back of the couch, he found that Gilbert had decided to use his Jedi costume again, though he was carrying his red lightsaber in one hand. The other was being used to keep Hettie on his hip. She was pretty in a red dress (to match her brother) with gossamer wings on her back, the darker blond of her hair curled around her head. The only sign of her displeasure was the pout she had as she resolutely looked away from Arthur. Kris was frowning, cape tied securely around his neck, his little hand clutching at the bottom of Gilbert’s robes.

It hurt to see the worry and disappointment in his family's faces.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?” Gilbert asked.

“I’m fine. I’ll watch a horror movie while you're out,” Arthur reassured him. Neither of them mentioned the fact that he probably wouldn't pay attention to much of it in his current state.

“Hmm. Right. Well, we'll take the cakes to the door so you don't need to get up.”

“Thanks, love.” He sent Gilbert a grateful smile that the worried alpha returned. “Have fun.” There was a chorus of sulky byes, shuffling and footsteps, before the front door swung shut.

Groaning, Arthur flopped onto his side, staring at the blank TV. Maybe if he slept, he'd feel better. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so sick. Sure, he’d had the flu a few times since the kids were born but he’d not thrown up this much since-

Eyes widening, Arthur pushed himself upright so fast that he gagged when his stomach protested. Grimacing, he scrambled to his feet and hurried upstairs, heading for the bathroom. He flicked the light on, nudging a bath toy aside as he reached for the cabinet above the sink. Then he made his way to the toilet pan. By the time he was finished, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry in relief.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Arthur was feeling a little better, though a lot more emotional. He’d put on the TV which was showing Hocus Pocus. It was mostly background noise as he stared at the thing in his hands. His thoughts darted from good scenarios to bad. Would this be okay?

Suddenly, the front door opened and Arthur froze. Terror flooded him. Who could that be? Who would be opening the door? Had a teenager thought it would be amusing to enter the house when Arthur was alone? Was it something more sinister? He clutched at his stomach as he turned to look at the open living room door.

In the next instant, however, he heard his Hettie’s crying over the pounding of his heart. Gasping, Arthur got to his feet and tried to rush to the door, leaving the object behind. By the time he reached it, worried about what Hettie could possible be crying about, he could hear Kris’s yelling. Gilbert’s voice was a murmur and he relaxed enough that he stopped in the doorway, clutching at the door frame.

“What happened?” he asked, still alarmed. “What’s wrong?”

Instead of helping to calm his children, it made Hettie cry all the harder, wailing loud enough to bring the house down. She was still clinging to Gilbert who was struggling to hold her and his lightsaber with one hand while his other hand was firmly gripping the tiny sorcerer who was struggling against him.

“I wan’ sweeties!” he was yelling, sounding tearful, too.

“Maaaaamaaaaa!” Hettie yelled, beating at Gilbert with her fists.

“He’s here, he’s here!” Gilbert exclaimed, moving closer. “See? You want your mama, right?” And he tried to hand Hettie over to Arthur who reached out for her.

“No!” she shouted. “Don’t wan’im!” Sure enough, she clutched at Gilbert tighter.

“Sweeties!” Kris shouted, kicking at Gilbert’s leg.

“Just what is going on?” Arthur asked, his heart clenching at the sight of his children upset. And, apparently, he couldn’t fix it.

Struggling with them, Gilbert checked over his shoulder to make sure he’d closed the front door before letting Kris’s hand go. Kris began to use his fists to beat against his father’s leg as well. Arthur glanced up at him and saw that Gilbert was gritting his teeth, likely holding back his alpha instincts to take complete control of the situation. That always scared the kids and made Arthur unsettled so he didn’t let his temper get the best of him - most of the time.

Taking a deep breath, Gilbert explained, “Hettie didn’t realise till we were two doors down that you weren’t coming with us. She would have been fine if _someone_ ” - he glared down at his son - “hadn’t decided to tell her that you were dying. She pitched a fit and started crying when I said everything was fine. You should’ve seen Mrs. Carrow’s face when she saw I was still trying to take her around the houses. I swear, if looks could kill…”

“So you decided to come home and…” Arthur trailed off, watching his son half-heartedly kicking at Gilbert.

“Yeah.” Gilbert turned to Kris. “If you don’t stop that-” He began, only for Kris to kick him one more time. Gilbert’s eyes narrowed. Before Arthur could interfere, he had grabbed Kris’s hand again. “Right. Time for bed. _Both_ of you.”

The crying immediately increased in volume, words mixed in with them. Arthur winced. “Do you want me to help?” he asked, pitching his voice to carry over the noise.

“Are you feeling any better?”

“Yes. Mostly.” Arthur couldn’t help but rub at his stomach.

Gilbert took notice and sniffed the air. His brow furrowed and he shook his head. “Go back to your movie,” he told Arthur. “I’ll take care of this.”

“I’m fine,” Arthur tried to protest. “Let me-” But Gilbert shook his head and strode past him, a child hanging from both arms. “Gil,” Arthur tried one more time but Gilbert didn’t even acknowledge him that time. Sighing, Arthur retreated to the couch, plucking the object from the arm of the couch. He gazed at it as he waited until, finally, he stuck it up his sleeve, clutching at it through the fabric.

Instead, he stared at the floor, listening to his children’s sobs. His heart hurt and he clutched at it, feeling tears threatening. It was his fault that they were upset, that they were in pain. They obviously didn’t understand why things were different this year and… He had been careless and it had hurt them. Even Hettie couldn’t bear to look at him. Arthur pressed a hand to his mouth to stifle a sob: he was a horrible mother.

Half an hour later, Gilbert came down the stairs. Arthur heard him coming and took several deep breaths to calm himself. If Gilbert found him like this, he would only worry more and Arthur was being stupid. Quickly, he wiped away his tears and tried to relax against the couch so it would look as if he was watching the film.

However, his plan failed as Gilbert came bursting in, eyes wide. He rushed around Arthur to sit at his side and draw him into a hug. “Arthur! What’s wrong?!”

“I-I’m fine,” Arthur mumbled into Gilbert’s shoulder. But he breathed deep, inhaling Gilbert’s calming scent of forests and new wooden furniture.

“You were crying,” said Gilbert. “And you smell odd. Not exactly sick but…” Gilbert took a deep breath. “It’s like…”

When Gilbert did not elaborate, Arthur froze. Had he figured it out already? Should he tell him now? But he wasn’t sure what he wanted his reaction to be, not now, not when Kris had been disappointed and Hettie had been crying. He clutched at Gilbert, holding tight to the front of his robes.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “It’s my fault they were acting up.”

“Hey, what, no,” said Gilbert in a rush. Carefully, gently, he pried Arthur’s hands from him and pulled him up so they could look at each other. Arthur wished he wasn’t crying. “It’s not your fault.”

“Kris…”

“Will get over it when I buy him sweets tomorrow,” Gilbert told him, firmly. “Or we can go out tomorrow night instead. Before the school’s party.”

“But-”

“Who’s the one who made their costumes? And who carved the pumpkins with them and made the cakes? Who does Kris ask for help with his homework? What about Hettie screaming for her mama when she has a bad dream or falls over?” Gilbert raised an eyebrow, his hands squeezing Arthur’s.

“Me,” said Arthur, eventually.

“And when you do that, what happens?”

“I don’t…”

“They smile. They laugh. They have fun. Arthur, they love you and you love them. You’re the perfect mother.” Gilbert grinned at Arthur. “I love you.” Before Arthur could respond, Gilbert leaned down and kissed him, slow and gentle and loving. Arthur whimpered as he kissed back, his heart feeling as if it was overflowing in the face of Gilbert’s love.

When they pulled back, Arthur ducked down, looking at his arm. “I have something I need to tell you.”

“What?” asked Gilbert, tilting his head.

Arthur let go of him and shook out his arm. The object he had been holding onto for an hour slipped out to land between them. He didn’t say anything and only watched as Gilbert picked it up and stared down at it, uncomprehending. There was a silence, broken only by an advert on the telly. Finally, Gilbert looked up at him, jaw dropping.

“I had some left over,” said Arthur, by way of explanation. “It’s why I’ve been ill.”

“You’re… You’re pregnant?” Gilbert whispered, awestruck.

Smiling, Arthur nodded. “I think so. I mean, I’ll need to go to the doctor to confirm it but… it looks like it.”

“This… This is amazing!” Gilbert cried, likely loud enough to wait the children. “Arthur!” The omega didn’t have the chance to protest before Gilbert was throwing his arms around him. “I didn’t think- This is great!”

“Really?” said Arthur, trying and failing to suppress a laugh. “You really want more kids after tonight?”

“Well,” said Gilbert, pressing a kiss to Arthur’s ear. “I’m mostly just relieved that you’re not seriously ill.” He paused and sniffed at Arthur. “Though… You smell different from the last two times. I wonder why that is.” Gilbert pulled away to frown at him.

“I have no idea,” Arthur answered. “But Kris and Hettie haven’t presented yet, so maybe this one’s a different type from them.”

“Ooh! That’ll be interesting-” Gilbert suddenly cut himself off. “Hey, wait. Were you worrying about it? Because you couldn’t come trick-or-treating?”

Arthur grimaced. “I ruined the night-”

“No, you did not,” said Gilbert, almost growling. Arthur’s eyes widened and he couldn’t stop himself from whining: it was both needy and sorrowful. “You didn’t, Art,” Gilbert said again. “This is the best thing that’s happened today, okay, and it doesn’t matter if the kids were upset with you. They’ll get over it. Just wait till they find out they’ll be getting a brother or sister!”

Before Arthur could stop him, Gilbert began to ramble on about where they would put the kids and needing to make a new nursery. They had certainly not been planning any more children but, seeing Gilbert so excited, smelling the freshly baked bread and nuts on his scent, Arthur realised that he'd been being stupid and overly emotional. They had done this same thing before Kris and Hettie had been born, spoken like this while they both gave off nervous scents. Neither of them had had any confidence in their own parental abilities and both had read numerous books about it, scared they would get something wrong. But, despite their tantrums, Kris and Hettie were good kids and Arthur had no doubt they would come apologise in the morning. If they could raise their first two children right, they could do it with this next one.

In an attempt to hide his giddy smile, Arthur wrapped his arms around Gilbert’s middle and curled around him, snuggling into him, pressing his nose into Gilbert’s neck. Gilbert’s arms immediately enveloped Arthur in a hug and Gilbert laughed in pure joy. The laughter was infectious and Arthur chuckled into Gilbert’s shoulder, content with the way his life had turned out, even if it had its ups and downs.

**Author's Note:**

> The next child might be a challenge as it's twins! That's why he was much more ill than with the first two. 
> 
> Speaking of which, I've decided that Kris has a personality which is like Gilbert's and is an omega, while Hettie is shy and an alpha. The twins will be identical in every way, except type, where one will be alpha and the other omega - but they'll have very similar personalities which'll confuse people when they start giving off a scent, heh.


End file.
